UK Government updates to chemical licence category
22 Jun 2026
Drug precursor Category 1 expanded from 29 June – colleagues must review their inventories and, if they hold these substances, contact our Regulatory Compliance Team immediately.
The UK Government has introduced legislation expanding Category 1 of the UK precursor chemical licence effective from Monday, 29 June 2026.
A UK precursor chemical licence or registration is a mandatory permit issued by the Home Office. It is required for any individual or business to legally possess, use, sell, import, or export chemicals that have legitimate industrial uses but can also be diverted to manufacture illegal drugs or explosives. The licensing system allows the UK to meet its international treaty obligations, such as the UN Vienna Convention, to combat global drug and substance trafficking.
What’s changing?
Ten additional drug precursors will be classified as Category 1.
14 esters of controlled substances (including PMK and BMK glycidic acid esters) will also be included.
Key substances affected include: 4-AP (N-phenylpiperidin-4-amine); 1-boc-4-AP (Tert-butyl 4-anilinopiperidine-1-carboxylate); Norfentanyl (N-phenyl-N-(piperidin-4-yl)propenamide); 4-piperidone; 1-boc-4-piperidone (tert-butyl 4-oxopiperidine-1-carboxylate); IMDPAM (Isopropylidene (2-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)acetyl)malonate); MAMDPA (Methyl 3-oxo-2-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)butanoate); DEPAPD (Diethyl (phenylacetyl) propanedioate); EAPA (Ethyl alpha-phenylacetoacetate); The ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl and tert-butyl esters of PMK glycidic acid; The ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl and tert-butyl esters of BMK glycidic acid.
The full Category 1 list is available at:
What this means
Category 1 substances are subject to the highest level of control. From Monday, 29 June 2026, a licence will be required for:
- Manufacture
- Possession
- Supply
- Import/export
What you need to do
Colleagues should review their inventories to identify if they hold these substances.
If they do, they must contact the Regulatory Compliance Team immediately to start a licence application process.
Further details and licensing guidance are available at: